Brave Enough
by Sweet Lunacy
Summary: Stan has been annoying Jenny all day. He doesn't know how to react when he finds out that she has unhealthy ways of coping with stress. Back-in-the-day Jibbs. Stan/Jenny friendship. One-shot. Under the Knife/Shattered universe.


**A/N: I know I said I wasn't going to dive into this part of my Jibbs universe, but I couldn't get this Jenny out of my head. This one is more about Jenny and Stan's friendship with Jibbs undertones. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

There weren't many people who had the ability to make Jennifer Shepard consider murder at 11am on a Tuesday morning, but Stan Burley seemed to possess that particular talent. She was already in a less-than-stellar mood, having gotten only two hours of sleep the night before, and his immature antics were driving her absolutely mad. She rolled her eyes as he tossed a paperclip at her from his desk and buried her head in her files, trying her best to ignore him.

"Psst...hey, Red."

She frowned, reading the paper in front of her again, pointedly not looking up.

"Shepard. I know you can hear me."

Silence.

"Jenny. I have a very serious question to ask you. It's a matter of extreme importance."

Still, she said nothing.

"Jenny. Hey, Jenny. Hey. Hey. Hey. Jenny. Shepard."

"For the love of God, Burley, _shut up_!"

Jumping slightly at the raised voice of Will Decker, Burley glared at him.

"Shepard's ignoring me."

"Yeah, she's smart. Besides, she's working. Leave her alone."

"But I have a question to ask her."

Decker sighed, looking at Jenny pleadingly.

"Will you please let him ask his question so he'll shut up?"

Sighing, Jenny nodded, glancing up at Burley.

"What is it, Stan?"

"Do you have a piece of gum?"

"Burley, I swear to God, I'm going to kick your ass!"

Before he had time to react, Jenny had slammed her hand down on her desk, storming off in the direction of the nearest pot of coffee. She very narrowly avoided colliding with Gibbs as he walked past, and he called her name sharply, frowning as she whipped around to face him.

"What's going on?"

"Get that immature idiot away from me before I remove his organs in alphabetical order!" she snapped, indicating Burley.

Staring after her in confusion, Gibbs faced the two men left sitting behind their respective desks and he glared at them both.

"Why are you intentionally trying to piss off Shepard?"

Decker held up his hands in surrender.

"It wasn't me, Gibbs. Burley's been annoying her all morning."

Now the subject of Gibbs' infamous glare, Burley shrugged, looking a little ashamed.

"I was just trying to get her to lighten up. She's been obsessing over this last case."

Gibbs frowned.

"Why?"

"She thinks she screwed up. She didn't, but she's been worrying about it for the past two days."

"Are you finished talking about me like I'm not here?"

Burley jumped at the sound of her voice, and as she sat behind her desk, she sipped her coffee silently. Gibbs frowned again, walking closer to her, and when he stopped in front of her desk, she sighed. He waited, knowing her curiosity would eventually get the best of her, and when her eyes snapped up to his, he fought the urge to smirk.

"Did you need something?"

"What are rules ten and eleven, Shepard?"

Jenny rolled her eyes, taking a long drink of her coffee, but remained silent. He glared at her and she sighed.

"Never get personally involved in a case, and when the job is done, walk away," she quoted dutifully.

He nodded.

"Right. Why are you breaking both of them right now?"

"I'm not," she protested, "I'm just—"

"Walk. Away. Understood?"

She nodded in defeat, and he gave her a smile as he walked back to his desk. Burley sighed as he searched his desk for a piece of gum, grumbling about how Jenny had been of no help, and when a brand new pack hit him squarely in the face, he jumped up, looking around wildly.

"Don't say I never gave you anything, Burley," Jenny said, annoyance clear in her tone.

He opened the gum, popping a piece into his mouth, and tossed it back to her. She tried to catch it, but his aim had been slightly off, and it connected with the coffee cup she had set down on her desk. Jenny jumped back as the hot liquid spilled on her shirt, and she glared at him.

"Damn it, Burley!"

"Shit, I'm sorry, Jenny. Are you okay?"

She pushed her chair back, making her way to the restroom, and Decker laughed quietly.

"She's gonna kill you."

Burley had never been more afraid for his life while safely sitting in an office before.

* * *

Beyond furious, Jenny pulled her shirt over her head, thankful that she had worn a tank top underneath her long sleeved sweater. She swore softly as she tried to remove the stain from the material, and when she realised it was futile, she pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. It shouldn't have bothered her this much, it was just a plain blue shirt, and it was only a coffee stain, but she couldn't stop the irrational fury that was building within her.

Taking a deep breath, she decided that she should take advantage of the moment alone and clean the shallow cuts on the skin of her forearm from the previous week, carefully peeling off the bandage. It was healing well, not too deep, and as she gently washed it with soap and warm water, she frowned as she remembered that Gibbs knew now.

They hadn't discussed it since, which she had preferred, but it was still a little unnerving to her. She'd expected him to pry, to do anything he thought possible to make her stop, and his silence made her slightly suspicious. Still, she decided that she would much rather deal with his silence than have to answer his endless questions.

When she was satisfied with the cleanliness of her arm and only moderately devastated by the loss of her shirt, Jenny opened the bathroom door, smacking into Burley as he stood in the hall.

"What do you want?" she sighed exasperatedly.

He held up an old NIS shirt.

"Brought you this. Figured you'd want to be warmer."

She reached for it, offering him a tired smile.

"Thanks."

"I really am sorry, Jenny. Not just about the coffee, but...I shouldn't have tried to get on your nerves so much today."

Touched by his sincere apology, the redhead smiled, and hugged him gently.

"It's okay, Stan. Really, don't worry about it."

She pulled the sweatshirt over her head, and when his eyes landed on the cut running the length of her forearm, Burley frowned.

"Hey, Red...what happened to your arm?"

Jenny's eyes darted to his, and he saw a flash of fear in the viridian irises.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You sure? Doesn't look like nothing."

Shaking her head, Jenny backed away, her eyes almost pleading with him.

"Please, Stan. Drop it."

Though he wanted nothing more than to keep pushing her until she told him, Burley nodded, more confused than ever as he watched his redheaded friend walk back to her desk.

* * *

She was being stared at. It was the kind of gaze that was impossible to ignore, and yet, Jenny gave it her best shot. Being stared at so intently had two effects on her emotional state, making her both nervous and angry, neither of which were things she needed to be at the present time. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer, and she jerked her head up, glaring at Burley.

"If it won't pain you too much, would you please stop staring at me?"

He smirked.

"Thought hot women liked being stared at. You should be used to it by now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

Shrugging, Burley leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on his desk.

"You're hot. Thought that was obvious. You'd confuse even a gay man, Red."

Jenny rolled her eyes, picking up her stapler.

"Keep it up, Burley, and I'll staple your balls to the floor."

His eyes widened, and Jenny knew, without even turning around, that Gibbs was behind her. She faced him, a slightly sheepish look on her face.

"Gibbs, I—"

He held up his hand, glancing at Burley.

"Go for his shoulders. He can't balance for shit."

Jenny smirked, standing from her chair and crossing the room so quickly that Burley had no idea how she hadn't fallen in her heels. She grabbed his shoulder, shoving him up against the file cabinet, and held the stapler inches from his face.

"One more remark like that and you'll never speak again. Got it?"

He nodded and Gibbs frowned.

"I'm disappointed in you, Shepard. Did I teach you nothing?"

"Thanks, Gibbs. Really thought she was going to—"

"I taught you to never hesitate."

"Gibbs!" Burley yelped indignantly.

Smiling in a way that did absolutely nothing to reassure him, Jenny released her hold on him, and he glared at her.

"Very funny, Red."

She shrugged, and walked back to her desk, crossing her legs gracefully as she sat. Her day was beginning to look up.

* * *

"Come on, Shepard! It's late, let's get the hell out of here!"

Jenny sighed, grabbing her purse from her desk drawer and as she stood up, she crashed right into Burley who had (for some unknown reason) decided to stand directly in front of her desk.

"Don't you have a date tonight, Burley?" Decker asked as he grabbed his keys.

"Nah, that's tomorrow."

"What's her name, Danielle?"

"Rachel," Burley answered, pulling his own keys out of his pocket.

"What about you, Jenny? Any plans for the weekend?"

The redhead shook her head, waving at Decker as he walked closer to the elevator.

"Well, have fun. I'm heading to the bar if you guys want to swing by."

Laughing as she bent down to pick up her purse from where she'd dropped it, Jenny was horrified to discover that her medicinal supplies had fallen onto the floor. She quickly picked it back up, sweeping it to the bottom of her bag, and as she straighten up, she prayed that Burley hadn't noticed it.

"You rob a hospital, Red?"

Damn. He was more observant than she'd thought.

"No. I just like to be prepared."

He frowned, looking at her seriously.

"Prepared? That was overkill. Even I'm not that clumsy."

She shrugged, swinging her purse onto her shoulder, and tried to step past him.

"Jenny...what happened to your arm?"

"Nothing," she lied, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Come on, Shepard. I'm not stupid. Did someone hurt you? Who do I need to kill? I'll murder whoever did this to you. Gibbs and Decker will back me up."

Jenny looked at him finally, and he was shocked to see that she was crying. He'd never seen her cry before, not even when she'd been strangled a week ago, and he frowned.

"Hey..." he said quietly, reaching out to touch her shoulder, "What is it, Jenny?"

"You said you'd murder whoever did this to me. Go ahead. I'm standing right here."

Neither of them noticed that they were no longer alone in the squad room, each too focused on the other to see their silver-haired boss standing by the stairs leading to the catwalk. He watched them carefully, ready to step in if needed, but preferring to observe the exchange silently.

"What are you talking about, Red?"

She sniffed, rolling her eyes half-heartedly.

"I did it, Stan. No one did this to me."

He looked so confused that she very nearly laughed, and he stared at her, trying to find something to say.

"Why?"

Stupid, perhaps, but it was all he could think of.

"It's...it's the only way I know how to deal with stress. Other than drinking, but I can't stay drunk 24/7. I don't expect you to understand."

Her tears were falling faster now, and before he could stop himself, he had pulled her into his arms, hugging her fiercely.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

She shook her head, closing her eyes as he held her, and he ran his hand over her hair soothingly. Over her shoulder, he finally noticed the man standing almost entirely in the shadows, and Gibbs shook his head, warning him to stay silent.

"I'll be okay, Stan."

"Jenny, this is dangerous," he said quietly, "What if you slip? What if it's too deep?"

"I'm always careful."

He'd never touched Jenny for this long, never would have thought that this was how their first hug would go, and he tightened his grip as he felt her start crying again.

"I'm here if you need to talk. Okay?"

She nodded against his chest, and took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Don't tell Gibbs you saw me cry," she whispered.

"You got it, Red."

He let go of her, and she wiped her hand under her eyes slowly.

"I should go. Have a good night, Stan."

She made her way to the elevator, and when he noticed her pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he frowned. She must have been more upset than he thought. As the elevator doors slid shut behind her, Burley felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder and he turned, facing the steel blue eyes of his team leader.

"You did fine, Stan," he said quietly.

"Did you know?"

Gibbs nodded.

"Yeah. I knew."

Burley was silent, staring at the place Jenny had stood, and when he spoke, there was a hint of desperation colouring his voice.

"What do we do?"

"Keep quiet. And hope she doesn't go too far."

Glaring at the older man, Burley turned to face him.

"There has to be something we can do. We have to help her, Gibbs."

Gibbs shook his head, his eyes sadder than the young agent had ever seen.

"We can't. Unless she asks us to, we have to stay out of it. It's her life, Burley. We can't do anything."

They stood in silence for a few more minutes, and finally Gibbs clapped him gently on the shoulder, nodding toward the elevator.

"You did the right thing. Go home. Enjoy your night."

As he watched the young agent step into the lift, Gibbs knew that his advice was easier spoken than heeded. He'd been having a hell of a time ever since he'd found out about Jenny, and he wanted nothing more than to take her pain away and make her happy. He'd told Burley to enjoy his night, but he knew that he himself would never be able to follow his own advice. His thoughts had been filled with nothing but a certain redheaded agent for the better part of a week, and he knew that he would never be able to get to sleep that night. All he could do was hope for the best. That, at least, was what he was trying to convince himself of as he walked to his truck. Even as he slid behind the wheel, he knew it was useless. He was going to find a way to help Jenny. No matter how long it took.

* * *

**A/N: I'm honestly not sure what it means that I was able to slip so easily back into writing this version of Jenny. At the risk of sounding overly personal, it's a bit concerning. When you can feel yourself slipping, but you can't stop it...anyway, writing helps, so here we are. Sorry for the rant. I hope you liked it!**


End file.
